Nine little words Thomas Powers, Thomas Powers is the author of "The Man Who Kept the Secrets: Richard Helms and the CIA" and "Heisenberg's War: The Secret History of the German Bomb," among other books. He writes frequently for the New York Review of Books.

Nunez's high-stakes deal Anthony York, Anthony York is the editor of Capitol Weekly, a newspaper of California government and politics.

Symptoms of depression Steve Fraser, Steve Fraser is a writer and editor. His new book, "Wall Street: America's Dream Palace," will be published by Yale University Press in March. A longer version of this article appears at Tomdispatch.com.